World Perspectives

Industry Consolidation

U.S. antitrust law is complicated, but current efforts to block a merger between grocery retailers Albertsons and Kroger may not fit the bill. Current triggers under the law include: Market share of 70 percent or more, or less than 50 percent if barriers limit competition. Barriers to entry prevent competition. When a firm can raise prices above competitive levels without losing market share.   The use of predatory practices. A Herfindahl-Hirschman Index score of 2,500 or higher, or possibly 1,500 to 2,500. The proposed Albertson/Kroger merger would result in a firm still smaller than Walmart. Under the Rule of Three theory, firms consolidate until three firms dominate a market. GM, Ford and Chrysler once comprised the B...

Related Articles

WPI Grain Transportation Report

Dry bulk freight rates cratered this week as China started its Golden Week holiday, which blanketed markets with calm and quiet. Pacific markets were especially dull and weaker, especially amid doubts about how China’s grain demand will play out after the holiday. China still has not book...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2175/bushel, up $0.0525 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.1475/bushel, up $0.055 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.2375/bushel, up $0.1075 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $279.3/short ton, up $5.7 fr...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Tweet Yields Another Rally and Perhaps a Floor

After yesterday’s charge forward in soybeans and a lower close in the overnight, optimists on a trade deal with China again took over and brought another higher close that this time infected both the corn and wheat markets. As stated in Matt’s adjacent analysis, this seems overwroug...

WPI Grain Transportation Report

Dry bulk freight rates cratered this week as China started its Golden Week holiday, which blanketed markets with calm and quiet. Pacific markets were especially dull and weaker, especially amid doubts about how China’s grain demand will play out after the holiday. China still has not book...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2175/bushel, up $0.0525 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.1475/bushel, up $0.055 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.2375/bushel, up $0.1075 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $279.3/short ton, up $5.7 fr...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Tweet Yields Another Rally and Perhaps a Floor

After yesterday’s charge forward in soybeans and a lower close in the overnight, optimists on a trade deal with China again took over and brought another higher close that this time infected both the corn and wheat markets. As stated in Matt’s adjacent analysis, this seems overwroug...

livestock

Livestock Roundup: Shutdown Affects Reports; Screwworm Drug Approved

The federal government has been shut down since midnight on Wednesday and various USDA reports have been suspended.  This includes some of the data typically reported in the Thursday livestock report, including slaughter data and livestock and poultry inventories.   USDA posted o...

Image
From WPI Consulting

Communicating importance of value-added products

Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.

Search World Perspectives

Sign In to World Perspectives

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up